Weeks 3 & 4 – Nanowrimo

It’s the home stretch. Only a few more days to drag yourself over the Nanowrimo finish line. If you’re like me (don’t be like me) then you’ve left most of the words for the last night week.

It can still be done, my friends. Oh, yes it can.

But how? How am I meant to write 30,000 words in just one day week?

Coffee. And fingers to the keyboard.

It doesn’t even matter what you write anymore, just write. Write like Superman/woman/person flying to rescue a school bus of children that has fallen off a bridge. You have to make it. It’s your duty. Otherwise, the actor’s in the movie might die. Just do it!

Ahem. Maybe I have had too much of the ol’ cider coffee.

Anywaaaaaay ….

Last week of Nanowrimo

Divide the word count you still need to hit into four days (or however many days you’ve got left until the 30th). That’s your goal for the next few days.

If you did the pre-planning for Nanowrimo, then you know a lot of what you need to write. You’ve got your conclusion and possibility your closing scenes. You’ve got your transition into Act 3. It’s time to fill in the gaps with whatever exciting thing that makes sense for your genre.

Can’t think of anything? Make something up. You’re an author, baby. You can do it.

It doesn’t matter if it stays in. No-one is going to care. It’s the first draft. So don’t second-guess yourself. Write like it’s just practice and no one will ever read it, it takes the pressure off. Play with ideas through your fingers.

And who knows? Maybe your scene ramblings actually turn out to be pretty great because you’re no longer critiquing yourself, and you’re letting your muse take over.

It’s magic when that happens.

I’m stuck

The simple advice I have for you is to write and aim to finish. Don’t self-censor, just have fun. It’s a game that you can win. Because if you do, you get a nice sense of satisfaction.

But if you don’t. It doesn’t matter. Nano doesn’t care. Your dog doesn’t care. So don’t care yourself. You got at least some words down.